Returning to Andaria
by Lady Mage
Summary: Cinderella. Ellera realizes she is not up to the role the prince has asked her to play, and goes back to claim her Duchy. Over the years, she becomes the most beloved noble in the realm. The story of how a girl can take an unhappy ending and make it happy
1. Leaving Daren

**Story Title: **Returning to Andaria

**Fanfiction Genre:** Cinderella

**Rating: **K+

**Author:** Lady Mage

**Summary: **Cinderella (Ellera) realizes she is not up to the role the prince has asked her to play, and goes back to claim her Duchy. In the course of years, she becomes the most beloved noble in the realm. The story of how a girl can take an unhappy ending and make it happy.

* * *

_Friday, May 11, 1200_

_**My Dear Prince Daren,**_

_I write this letter to you in remembrance of what we were. I will miss you, but one day you will be glad you rid yourself of me so easily. Someday, when you are married to a princess more worthy of your affection than I. I, Ellera of Andaria, who was raised as a maid to my sisters, despite my noble birth. I, who have caused the lady Cynthia such grief over my manner of bearing and deportment. _

_So, in the end, I am doing you a great service by leaving. I will return to my manor, my mother and sisters having died of the plague (God bless them), and take possession. I may even marry, or become a widely known scholar. Maybe I'll gather around me a court full of young people- who knows what God has in store for His most wonderful subjects? It is not for us to question, but to obey His divine will. I had thought his will was to marry you, but, apparently, it is not. Most likely, we will never see each other again as lovers, and when duty calls I will be your most humble subject, not your queen._

_Farewell, and God and my love go with you,_

_Ellera, Grand Duchess of Andaria

* * *

_

_Friday, May 11, 1200_

_**To the Honored and Revered Lady Cynthia, Duchess of Canthior:**_

_I most humbly ask after your welfare, and hope to relieve you with this news I presumed you have sought for a while. I am leaving His Highness, shocking though it is. _

_He and I…while we have had many happy times, are not fit to rule side by side. As you know, I was raised as a lady's maid to my mother and sisters, the Lord bless them and keep them, and it was only recently, thanks to you my dear, that I found I was of noble birth. Therefore, when His Highness proposed to me at the royal ball in honor of his 21st birthday, I was not prepared for the intricacies of court life. Swept up in my love for him, I believed that this marriage was God-ordained. I neglected to remember my lack of etiquette as concerns a queen or a princess. _

_This lack soon became apparent as soon as you, my adopted sister, entered my chambers to teach me deportment. The rest you know, so I shall not bore you with it- how I was your eternal despair and worry (for which I do beseech you to pardon me). _

_So, the gist of it is this: the Prince and I are not suited to each other, and, as much as I love him, I am going back to my duchy and manor. He will be much happier with a proper princess by his side, one who was raised to be that complement to kingly authority as I am not. I am not, shall we say, questioning the quality of my blood, for, as you know, I have as good blood as most kings in the area, better indeed than some. It is just my upbringing that stands in my way._

_I wish it were not so, but, unfortunately it is the case. So, without much more ado, I set off to pack my bags. I hope you will visit me in my new location._

_My best wishes to you and your husband, _

_Ellera, Grand Duchess of Andaria

* * *

_

_Saturday, May 12, 1200_

_**To Dwight, Steward of Andaria:**_

_I know you will be relieved that I am finally answering your many letters. The truth is, when I went to the capital, as I am sure you have heard, the prince proposed to me. The marriage was to be next Thursday._

_You raise your eyebrows at me, like you did of old. 'Was', you silently ask. 'Yes, was', I reply, for we are not to be married any longer- the differences of my upbringing were too great for me to bridge even with the help of the honored Lady Cynthia. I daresay I did him a favor by backing out. He will need a queen that can complement his royal authority, not a queen who will be a hindrance._

_So, I am coming home to take possession of the manor that, by the Grace of God, had been given me when Belinda, Gertrude, and my Lady Mother died of the plague. _

_Now, as you know, my Lady Mother acquired many debts, and no doubt the moneylenders are on the verge of taking possession of Andaria. Do not fret on this account, for I have with me money and jewels to pay off these debts, however large they may be, and still have enough to redo the chapel that was neglected by my Lady Mother and sisters. _

_Here is what I wish you to do in the two days that I will be traveling—draw up the contracts for the redecoration of the chapel for me to sign. Call on the moneylenders, and tell them I have procured the money and will give it to them upon my return. Then I wish you to arrange for all the lords who owe me fealty to come and do it immediately. Following the ceremony, arrange a tournament, banquet, and ball. (I assure you, with the kind of money I have in my possession now, we can pay for it all.) Invite all the neighboring royalty, Grand Dukes and Duchesses, Counts and Countesses. Please also extend an invitation to the Lady Cynthia of Canthior for form's sake- she will not attend._

_My reason for this? Even though I did not learn a few crucial things from Lady Cynthia, I did learn that people, especially nobles and royalty must be impressed. When they are impressed, they will think twice about crossing you. _

_I also have in my possession certain books on agriculture, a gift from the Royal Librarian when he learned I was returning home. I may have been raised as a ladies' maid, but I am no fool, and I realize how helpful these can be. We will examine them once all the social events are over._

_Best Wishes to you,_

_Ellera, Grand Duchess of Andaria

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_

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this! Please review, even if it's only to say "I Read It". **


	2. Authors Note

Hi all,

When I first began this story a while ago, I had it all planned out. Unfortunately, when I uploaded the first chapter, I deleted the other chapters from my computer and have them no longer. For a while I thought I would recreate them from the handwritten elementary versions I had written prior to typing and editing.

However, at this point, almost a year after I published the first chapter consisting of letters, I feel that I should devote my efforts to getting this published in the real world. To do that, I am announcing the removal of this story at the end of April. I am sorry to any of those who particularly enjoyed this story: look for it in print in a couple of years. I may change the title and the storyline a bit, but I think the basic idea will remain the same: Cinderella returning home without marrying the prince.

Again, many thanks to all those who reviewed this story… it was one of my first steps to becoming a decent writer. You helped me grow, and somehow, in the back of my mind, I thought I would come back to this story at some point. But that moment is gone, and we must progress past our first attempts at writing a good novel and onward to actually writing it. I no longer believe that Fanfiction . net is the best way to pursue my dream of getting this story published- there are too many risks of plagarization.

I'd like to take a moment now and thank each reader and reviewer individually:

_Bingo7, Lady Knight Keladry, Knightmage, love lotr, Ellen Jacee, and Acy Yua. _

Special thanks particularly to Ellen Jacee and Acy Yua. I'm sorry to have disappointed you both with not updating or continuing on this site and I hope you will look for my book in print at some point. I will do my best to address the issues you listed: thank you so much for bringing them to my attention. If you ever have any more advice pertaining to this story, please let me know. I would love to hear from you and everyone else who would care to share.

On that note, I close this story and hope you will all look for it in print in the years to come. Like I said previously, I have yet to actually finish the story, and that will require work. I should have the book finished in a year or two (due to my crazy schedule not allowing me to write more often) and then I hope to be looking for a publisher. If you like, I can keep you updated on my success on that front, and if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Thank you again for all your support,

Virginia E. (Lady Mage)


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